I have been compared to Steve Jobs by some of my followers in the past, and while it was intended as a compliment, I’ll let you know why I did not receive it that way. I do plan to be a lifelong R&D innovator, which explains some connections. I’ve been encouraged to use my freedom of speech, so that is exactly what I plan to do.
“Fights between individuals, as well as governments and nations, invariably result from misunderstandings in the broadest interpretation of this term. Misunderstandings are always caused by the inability of appreciating one another's point of view. This again is due to the ignorance of those concerned, not so much in their own, as in their mutual fields. The peril of a clash is aggravated by a more or less predominant sense of combativeness, posed by every human being. To resist this inherent fighting tendency the best way is to dispel ignorance of the doings of others by a systematic spread of general knowledge. With this object in view, it is most important to aid the exchange of thought and intercourse.” ~Nikola Tesla
The debate of PC vs. Mac is age-old and likely not going to stop anytime soon unless people can start to really evaluate the truth and put their differences aside. I respect any technology more advanced than the next so long as it serves humankind to improve upon their lives and not harm the environment we live in. This article aims to explain how targeting a primarily iOS audience is counter-productive within a cryptocurrency demographic while respecting iOS users to the fullest. It’s critical to note that a Mac is, technically, a PC, and they tend to run on either the same or similar hardware, with the differences being mostly related to product prices, company policies, and their software/OS.
Macs are costly closed systems that allow minimal expansion for anyone but advanced users with custom tools. Even then, it’s generally advised against due to lack of user familiarity in which you’d be encouraged to take your Mac in for a Mac specialist to do your upgrades for you at an extra cost. Steve Jobs intended to use this financial and engineering decision to make his products maintain high standards and, consequently, it’s bad for customization. I wouldn’t blame someone for not wanting to risk damaging components on a new $5,999 to $6,499 (USD, before taxes) Mac Pro. I run a custom build PC that costs less than half of that to build part by part due to being a PC gaming and multimedia enthusiast, so I am quite familiar with the hardware end of things, and that sounds like something most people would want to do on someone else’s dime.
Freedom of information is very important to me, as is making sound financial decisions. To be fair to the Mac, I still feel that typical PC components are overpriced as is. I am an Intel and NVIDIA loyal gamer, and with AMD’s new CPU & GPU developments, it’s been seriously testing my loyalty. I picked up a laptop with an AMD chip recently while staying in the Chicago area. I paid 100$ USD for it brand new through a third-party; it is perfectly capable of EOS onboarding; it is one of four devices I used to do so. The laptop retailed at about $400 USD at the time of purchase and does not boast any significant power, yet does everything I need it to do. The only things I have found the laptop to be horrible at are taking low-resolution screenshots and multi-tasking while writing at a level that I can achieve with a multi-display PC that has some real power; it did crash a few times due to my desktop habits.
To my knowledge, the cheapest way to onboard EOS with iOS is through an iPhone, and a new iPhone 12 is comparable in price to entry-level gaming laptops at about $1000-1,100 USD. Given that Apple has been sued successfully for $113,000,000 USD for deliberately slowing down old iPhone models in order to encourage the purchase of new models, I don’t feel safe buying any version of their phones - particularly the old ones which would carry less of a price point. I love Samsung, but I also have bones to pick with them, such as removing a 3.5mm jack on their new Galaxy S20 compared to the Galaxy S10+, which has both type-C and 3.5mm support for audio. I would like to stay as PC/Android & Mac/iPhone agnostic as possible in this article while making my point; I’ll even tell you that I dislike Windows 10 Pro but use it for school, work and gaming.
The concept that most people use iPhones and thus Android, Windows, and Linux/BSD are less of a demographic for cryptocurrencies seems invalid; instead, I’d argue that the majority of cryptocurrency users or potential users are more likely to be found via PC. While this may be untrue in specific contexts, such as within EOS development, multimedia, and podcasts - I disagree on the subject of cryptocurrencies as a whole. I would love to be proved wrong on this matter via iOS, iPhone, Mac, and EOS enthusiasts or experts, as information lacks on the subject at a conclusive level devoid of debate.
It definitely does not help with EOS onboarding - I speak from recent experience. I was offered a free iPhone a few months ago. I turned it down only to find myself wishing I had accepted it just for an EOS onboarding pictorial that is in progress. I want all people to have the same seamless experience intended for them with EOS, which is a wonderful but far-too-often overlooked currency. I can’t help but wonder if loyalty to Mac has been hurting their progress; hearing your thoughts on this would be excellent as I want to remain as unbiased as much as possible.
After a lot of research in the EOSphere, I have noticed a few things, and much like Cryptowriter is largely an EOS loving community, I’m learning the EOS community itself is largely a Mac/iPhone/iOS loving community. This commonality is NOT to say they don’t support PC and Android - most EOS software does. I would ordinarily say “Too each their own” and move on with my day, but this has created somewhat of a problem in my research as to research EOS to the fullest properly, I would require a Mac, which is something very few people can afford.
New Macs have some awe-inspiring features such as a 5k display, 24 and 28-core Intel Xeon W CPU’s with turbo capability up to 4.4 GHz without overclocking, 57 to 66.5 megs of cache, and a massive expansion for RAM up to 1.5TB at 2,933 Mhz. They are sleek, clean, and professional in appearance. Impressive workstations for those familiar with them, but they are often a sight of horror for PC enthusiasts. While I prefer PC, I still feel this is unfair as it’s founded on bias instead of facts.
Honestly, I would love to work with high-end Mac systems alongside my high-end PC to cross-compare them as the iOS-loving man with Snazzy Labs in the video below demonstrates. The video shows that PCs generally outperform Macs in the same price range even when both are customized to the max. However, some software optimization is better on Mac’s despite that, particularly in multimedia.
I find this to be a relatively fair comparison as they went all-out for both Mac and PC and gave them both the credit they deserved while respecting diversity between preferences. At the end of the day, what matters for the user is their preference, assuming they can afford their preference. He uses a Mac, his editor uses a custom PC, and they have no issues whatsoever; luckily, cross-platform support has been on the rise for some time now. Linux is also offering more cross-compatibility for PC users interested in free operating systems that perform exceptionally well; this is most commonly seen with miners as mining is typically more effective when done from Linux vs. Windows. iOS appears to lack any real support for mining, but I’m okay with that as it is harmful to the environment using traditional power sources.
Most people were not and are still not prepared for the financial hit of COVID-19, let alone have the means to go out and buy a new iPhone or Mac in addition to their current systems. I undoubtedly cannot afford it, and it’s a shame because I’d love to do YouTube videos in a studio regarding matters such as this. Still, as shown in the video above, even for someone who can afford to customize their Mac Pro, they required a sponsor to make the video possible. At the same time, if I had opted to go with Mac and iPhone to begin with, I may have been able to swing the cost at the time of purchase, albeit thousands of dollars more in price.
So, why is this relevant? Well, we want more people using and promoting cryptocurrencies. Money spent on a Mac that can do the same things as a cheaper computer or even fewer things than a more affordable computer is money lost in the crypto market per total volume. So, specifically for cryptocurrencies - Mac Pro is out for the average joe, and the average joe comprises most of the global population. Lesser models would likely be a fair compromise for many, but I don’t know anyone who likes to buy old models.
In terms of wealth inequality, which is a significant global economic issue at this time, many low-level investors start collecting from faucets that pay in tiny fractions of a US penny or by purchasing minimal amounts of crypto. I see little ground for many people like this who are interested but cannot participate to a full extent. That makes me lean in favor of socialist values so everyone can have nice things and equal opportunities, despite being an avid independent who supports decentralization. I have my conservative moments, as well.
The lack of equality simply isn’t fair to those individuals, and I wish I could offer them, as well as myself, more options. I believe that by the Cryptowriter community targeting audiences through YouTube and Spotify in addition to Podcasts, this will create a further sense of diversity. I genuinely think we’re stronger united even if we drive each other crazy sometimes, and I am not talking about politics, although the same principle applies. I will spend the rest of my life fighting for equality in all forms.
A dose of reality is that most people involved in cryptocurrencies are PC users, with many needing to have Linux experience for mining purposes. Many individuals at a mid to higher level are enthusiasts and thus require the need for systems that are not closed, can be upgraded readily and easily without fear of damaging expensive and unfamiliar components, and adapted to fit many different situations. Mac users seem convinced PC's are only adept for gaming, which is also a biased opinion not founded on facts; saying they are only better at gaming is falling short of the truth, even if you count something as simple as software not supported by iOS for multimedia that is supported on PC.
This need for customization is far from new, but imagine trying to run a Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), or ZCash (ZEC) cryptocurrency mining farm from iOS. That would be nothing short of a nightmare for almost anyone, and I highly doubt you’d see a profit. Lack of Android support with Anchor, a great wallet with Android support still in development, was the first thing that I noticed to be an issue for me, but I have to ask the iOS and EOS experts around me; where does this end - at the developer end?
I don’t imagine either choice is much of an issue for the general cryptocurrency user once they have a device outside occasional software compatibility. So why does it feel like this petty argument is still a substantial problem? Could it be that the simple truth is people are better off spending less, or is it that Mac’s innovations are worth the extra expenses and trial and error to produce quality blockchain software and secure hardware? I believe we can find a way to make things accessible and safe for all without confusing them, and I plan to write on that further after more research.
As always, comments and suggestions are highly encouraged.
Stay smart & Stay safe.
-Thomas Wolf
This article was originally published on Voice.com
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